Sunday, June 29, 2008

Where was the copy editor?


Photojourlism
Originally uploaded by MarkDM
Mark Dodge Medlin, a former A1 designer at The Star and now on the copy desk at the San Diego Union Tribune, captured this hilarious sign at the San Diego County Fair in Del Mar.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

We ar not a dyeing brede!


Well, Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post, tongue firmly in cheek (that's the one on his face), thinks the era of the copy editor is gone. He talks about their importance in the old days, back when copy editors worked on the stories of cigar-smoking, fanny-pinching reporters with such names as "Scoop" (not Zeke) who had that card that said "PRESS" stuck in their fedoras. I'll let W. explain his reason for saying "good riddance" to the copy editor. You must read Gene's story carefully from start to finish. (Cartoon by Eric Shansby)

Thursday, June 19, 2008

'Wronged by a Thong?'

I saw a segment on the "Today" show this morning about a woman who is suing Victoria's Secret over a thong she purchased from the store. She says the metal decoration on the undergarment snapped off and injured her eye. The title running at the bottom of the screen was so funny I had to share it.

Wronged by a Thong?

Then I went searching online to see if I could find other headlines for this story. Here are many more:
Dinged by a G-string?
and
Woman sues Victoria's Secret over a thong 'malfunction'
and
What a thong and dance: Woman sues Victoria's Secret over G-string injury
and
Victoria's little secret lawsuit?
and
Granma injured by a thong! EWWWWWWWWW!
and
The thong did it

What headlines could you come up with for this story? Send them to me.

Monday, June 16, 2008

'Where's the Section on Copy Editors?'


Earlier this year, the fancy new Newseum opened in Washington, D.C. The Newseum is a tribute to the news industry. The New York Times' Lawrence Downes checked it out. He asked museum employees where the section on newspaper copy editors was. Turns out there was no section on copy editors. In his column, Downes pays tribute to copy editors. Here are a few excerpts:

Besides fixing grammar, punctuation and style and writing headlines and captions, he says, copy editors "also do a lot more. Copy editors are the last set of eyes before yours. They are more powerful than proofreaders. They untangle twisted prose. They are surgeons, removing growths of error and irrelevance; they are minimalist chefs, straining fat. Their goal is to make sure that the day’s work of a newspaper staff becomes an object of lasting beauty and excellence once it hits the presses."

He continues: "The copy editor’s job, to the extent possible under deadline, is to slow down, think things through, do the math and ask the irritating question."

His column talks about the evolving job of the copy editor. His entire column can be read here.

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America)

Seeing Red


Now here's a case where such a headline isn't so unrealistic or outlandish.

Friday, June 6, 2008

My "King" Is Leaving Newspapers


OK, so this has nothing to do with our Universal Desk. Instead, it's related to my universe so I felt like sharing it. After 35 years as a newspaper journalist, my husband, George Foulsham, is leaving newspapers for a job at UC Santa Barbara. George is also a big hockey fan (L.A. Kings specifically), and he was asked to write a blog item on his last day at the L.A. Daily News. It appears on the "Inside the Kings with Rich Hammond" blog, and George's item can be found here. (In the photo above, George is in a suite at Staples Center with his great niece, Allison.)